Rope with spiral teeth

ABSTRACT

A rope with spiral teeth includes a first rope including a first core material with a first resin covering the first core material and a second rope including a second core material with a second resin covering the second core material. The second rope is spirally wound around an outer circumferential surface of the first rope. At least one of the first resin and the second resin contains an infrared reflectance adjusting material to make a temperature rise characteristic of the first resin and a temperature rise characteristic of the second resin different from each other, and the first rope and the second rope are bonded together, preferably without adhesive.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2011-115936 filed with the Japan Patent Office on May 24, 2011 theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed embodiments relate to a rope with spiral teeth.

In the related art, a rope with spiral teeth is used to accurately andquietly move a carriage of a printer or a movable member such as ascanner.

For example, JP-A-2004-239347 and JP-A-2001-241514 disclose a rope withspiral teeth. The rope with spiral teeth includes a rope body and awiring body wound around the outer circumferential surface of the ropebody. The rope body includes a wire rope serving as a core material anda first resin covering the wire rope. The wiring body includes a corematerial and a second resin covering the core material.

SUMMARY

In the rope with spiral teeth disclosed in the above patent documents,the rope body (first resin) and the wiring body (second resin) arebonded with an isocyanate-based adhesive. Therefore, the bondingstrength may be reduced due to the adhesive being unevenly coated. Thereduction in bonding strength may cause the wiring body to peel off therope body while in use.

The rope with spiral teeth also includes a spiral protrusion formed ofthe wiring body. The protrusion needs to have a predetermined shape thathardly changes. That is, the wiring body needs to be constantly andsecurely engaged with a groove of a gear.

In the case where the protrusion is not kept in the predetermined shape,it is difficult for the wiring body to engage with the groove of thegear. As a result, so-called “tooth jumping” may occur.

In addition, the first resin and the second resin need to have excellentdurability.

The present inventor has completed the rope with spiral teeth accordingto embodiments of the present invention by conducting extensive studiesto solve the above problems and by making the following findings. Thatis, an infrared reflectance adjusting material is blended into the firstresin of the rope body and/or the second resin of the wiring body, whichare bonded together. The blending is performed such that temperaturerise characteristics of the respective resins differ from each other. Asa result, a high bonding strength between the rope body and the wiringbody can be achieved without using an adhesive. The spiral protrusionformed of the wiring body securely maintains the predetermined shape.Therefore, a rope with spiral teeth having minimal tooth jumping andhigh durability can be obtained.

That is, a rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of thepresent invention includes: a first rope obtained by coating a firstcore material with a first resin; and a second rope obtained by coatinga second core material with a second resin, the second rope beingspirally wound around an outer circumferential surface of the firstrope, wherein at least one of the first resin and the second resincontains an infrared reflectance adjusting material to make atemperature rise characteristic of the first resin and a temperaturerise characteristic of the second resin different from each other, andthe first rope and the second rope are bonded together.

In the rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of the presentinvention, preferably, the first resin contains an infrared reflectanceadjusting material A as the infrared reflectance adjusting material, thesecond resin contains an infrared reflectance adjusting material B asthe infrared reflectance adjusting material, and an infrared reflectanceof the infrared reflectance adjusting material A and an infraredreflectance of the infrared reflectance adjusting material B differ fromeach other.

In the rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of the presentinvention, the infrared reflectance of the infrared reflectanceadjusting material B is preferably higher than the infrared reflectanceof the infrared reflectance adjusting material A.

In the rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of the presentinvention, the infrared reflectance adjusting material is preferablymade of at least one pigment selected from the group consisting of acomposite oxide pigment, a titanium oxide pigment, and a carbon blackpigment.

In the rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of the presentinvention, the first resin and the second resin are preferably made ofthe same kind of resin material.

In the rope with spiral teeth according to embodiments of the presentinvention, the first resin and the second resin are preferably made of athermoplastic resin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of theinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial front view schematically illustrating a rope withspiral teeth according to the first embodiment of the present inventionin use; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rope with spiral teethillustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters designate similar or identical parts throughout the severalviews thereof.

The configuration and effects of the rope with spiral teeth of the firstembodiment of the present invention will be described below in detailwith reference to the drawings.

Note that in FIG. 1, notched (hatched) portions are illustrated toexplain the configurations of a first rope 2 and a second rope 5.

In FIG. 2, the second rope 5 has an elliptical cross section. This isbecause the second rope having a substantially circular cross section isspirally wound around the outer circumferential surface of the firstrope.

The rope with spiral teeth 1 of the first embodiment of the presentinvention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes the first rope 2 and thesecond rope 5. The first rope 2 includes a first core material 3 and afirst resin 4 covering the first core material 3. The second rope 5includes a second core material 6 and a second resin 7 covering thesecond core material 6.

The second rope 5 is spirally wound around the outer circumferentialsurface of the first rope 2.

At least one of the first resin 4 and the second resin 7 contains aninfrared reflectance adjusting material to make their temperature risecharacteristics different from each other.

The first rope 2 and the second rope 5 are bonded together.

In the rope with spiral teeth 1 of the first embodiment of the presentinvention, the first rope 2 and the second rope 5 are bonded togetherwithout using any adhesive. In production, therefore, hardly anyproblem, such as uneven coating of an adhesive, will occur.

This makes the bonding strength between the first rope 2 and the secondrope 5 high.

In the rope with spiral teeth 1 of the first embodiment of the presentinvention having the above configuration, the infrared reflectanceadjusting material is blended into at least one of the resins such thatthe temperature rise characteristics of the first resin 4 and the secondresin 7 differ from each other. Therefore, the first resin 4 and thesecond resin 7 have different temperature rise characteristics, and inmanufacturing process one resin having the higher temperature risecharacteristic can be melted preferentially over the other resin havingthe lower temperature rise characteristic. As a result, the first rope 2and the second rope 5 can be bonded together.

In other words, in the bonding process, the first resin 4 and the secondresin 7 may be heated to a comparatively low temperature at which oneresin having the higher temperature rise characteristic is melted in alarge amount while the other resin having the lower temperature risecharacteristic is only slightly melted. That is, both the first resin 4and the second resin 7 do not need to be heated to the temperature atwhich both of the resins are melted in large amounts.

By providing this bonding process, the resin melted in a large amountfully bonds the first rope 2 and the second rope 5 together.

Therefore, in the manufactured rope with spiral teeth 1, the thermaldeformation of the first resin 4 and the second resin 7 in the bondingprocess is suppressed within an extent necessary for bonding. Asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, therefore, the outer shapes of the firstrope 2 and the second rope 5 can be kept in predetermined shapes.

That is, the protrusion having the predetermined shape is formed by thesecond rope 5 being spirally wound around the outer circumferentialsurface of the first rope 2. This protrusion can securely engage with agroove of a gear H. As a result, the driving force of a motor or thelike can be reliably transmitted to the rope with spiral teeth 1 via theengaged portion.

Therefore, the rope with spiral teeth 1 of the first embodiment of thepresent invention has less tooth jumping than the rope in the relatedart.

The first resin 4 and the second resin 7 in the rope with spiral teeth 1of the first embodiment of the present invention are thermally lessdeteriorated than the resins in the rope of the related art. Therefore,the rope with spiral teeth 1 according to the embodiments of the presentinvention has excellent durability.

The configuration of the first rope 2 will be described below in detail.

The first rope 2 is in the shape of a rod with a circular cross section.

The first core material 3 is a wire rope with a multiple-twist structurehaving 7×7 strands. That is, the first core material 3 includes a corestrand 9, which is formed by twisting seven lines, and six side strands8 which is formed by twisting seven lines. More specifically, the firstcore material 3 is a wire rope in which the six side strands 8 are woundin a twisted manner around the outer circumferential surface of thesingle core strand 9.

The number of lines constituting the core strand 9 or side strands 8 isnot limited to seven. For example, the number of lines may be in therange of 2 to 12. The number of the side strands 8 around the singlecore strand 9 is not limited to six, and may be in the range of 2 to 12,for example.

Examples of the material for the lines constituting the first corematerial 3 include, but are not limited to, stainless steel, a superelastic alloy (e.g., Ni—Ti alloy), and tungsten.

Examples of the stainless steel include, but are not limited to,martensite-based stainless steel, ferrite-based stainless steel,austenite-based stainless steel, austenitic-ferritic duplex stainlesssteel, and precipitation-hardened stainless steel.

Among these, the stainless steel is preferable, and austenite-basedstainless steel is more preferable.

The first resin 4 covers the outer circumferential surface of the firstcore material 3 with a substantially uniform thickness. The materialforming the first resin 4 is preferably a thermoplastic resin. A morepreferable material for the first resin 4 is at least one resin materialselected from the group consisting of a polyester resin, a polyamideresin, a polyurethane resin, a fluorine resin such as a TEFLON®(registered trademark) resin, and a polyolefin resin. A furtherpreferable material for the first resin 4 is at least one resin materialselected from the group consisting of a polyester elastomer, a polyamideelastomer, and a polyurethane elastomer.

The second rope 5 is in the shape of a rod with a circular crosssection. The second rope 5 has substantially the same diameter as thefirst rope 2. Note that the diameters of the second rope and the firstrope may be different from each other.

The second core material 6 is formed of a single line.

Note that, like the first core material, the second core material may beformed by twisting a plurality of single lines.

The line constituting the second core material 6 may be formed of thesame material as the first core material 3 described above.

The second resin 7 covers the outer circumferential surface of thesecond core material 6 with a substantially uniform thickness. Thesecond resin 7 may be formed of the same material as the first resin 4.

The first resin 4 and the second resin 7 are preferably formed of thesame kind of resin material.

In the case where the first resin and the second resin are formed of thesame kind of resin material, different amounts of the infraredreflectance adjusting material are blended into the respective resins tobe prepared. As a result, the first resin and the second resin havedifferent temperature rise characteristics. In the bonding process,therefore, the resin having the higher temperature rise characteristicis melted first. That is, only one of the first resin and the secondresin is melted at a time. Therefore, this type of melting causes thefirst rope and the second rope to be bonded together.

The second rope 5 is spirally wound around the outer circumferentialsurface of the first rope 2 at a predetermined pitch. The pitch in thiscase is not particularly limited, as long as the second rope 5 engageswith the gear H.

The first resin 4 contains an infrared reflectance adjusting material Aas the infrared reflectance adjusting material. The second resin 7contains an infrared reflectance adjusting material B as the infraredreflectance adjusting material. In this case, the infrared reflectanceof the infrared reflectance adjusting material A is different from thatof the infrared reflectance adjusting material B.

More specifically, the infrared reflectance of the infrared reflectanceadjusting material B is higher than that of the infrared reflectanceadjusting material A.

Therefore, the temperature rise characteristic of the first resin 4 ishigher than that of the second resin 7. In other words, when heat isexternally applied uniformly, the first resin 4 is more easily heatedand melted than the second resin 7.

Examples of the infrared reflectance adjusting material described aboveinclude, but are not limited to: white or chromatic pigments such as acomposite oxide pigment, a titanium oxide pigment, a carbon blackpigment, an iron oxide-based pigment, a calcination pigment, a metalpowder pigment, and an extender pigment; infrared absorbing dyes such asa polymethylene-based dye, an azulenium-based dye, a squarylium-baseddye, a thiopyrylium-based dye, an anthraquinone-based dye, aphthalocyanine-based dye, an azo-based dye, and a thioamide-based dye;and infrared reflecting dyes such as a phthalocyanine-based dye, anazo-based dye, an azomethine-based dye, an anthraquinone-based dye, aperinone-perylene-based dye, an indigo-thioindigo-based dye, adioxazine-based dye, a quinacridone-based dye, and anisoindolinone-based dye.

These infrared reflectance adjusting materials may be used independentlyor in combination of two or more.

Among these, the infrared reflectance adjusting material more preferablycontains at least one pigment selected from the group consisting of thecomposite oxide pigment, the titanium oxide pigment, and the carbonblack pigment.

In the present embodiment, any infrared reflectance adjusting material Aand any infrared reflectance adjusting material B may be selected fromthe infrared reflectance adjusting materials listed above as long as theinfrared reflectance of the infrared reflectance adjusting material B ishigher than that of the infrared reflectance adjusting material A. Forexample, the carbon black pigment may be selected as the infraredreflectance adjusting material A and the titanium oxide pigment may beselected as the infrared reflectance adjusting material B.

In addition, the titanium oxide pigment may be selected as the infraredreflectance adjusting material A, and the composite oxide pigment may beselected as the infrared reflectance adjusting material B.

The direction of twisting the side strand 8 in the first rope 2 relativeto a central axis 10 of the rope with spiral teeth 1 is preferablyopposite to the direction of winding the second rope 5 around the firstrope 2.

A method for manufacturing the rope with spiral teeth of the presentembodiment will be described below.

A first rope and a second rope are prepared. In this case, the firstrope includes a first core material and a first resin covering the firstcore material. The second rope includes a second core material and asecond resin covering the second core material.

The first resin is prepared from a resin material containing an infraredreflectance adjusting material A. The second resin is prepared from aresin material containing an infrared reflectance adjusting material B.In this case, the infrared reflectance of the infrared reflectanceadjusting material A is lower than that of the infrared reflectanceadjusting material B.

The second rope is spirally wound around the outer circumferentialsurface of the first rope at a predetermined pitch.

Next, the first rope and the second rope are bonded together. In thiscase, the bonding process is performed at a temperature at which thefirst resin or the second resin having the higher temperature risecharacteristic is preferentially melted. More specifically, the bondingprocess can be performed at a temperature at which the first resin iseasily heated and melted in a large amount.

The bonding process is performed, for example, as follows. That is, thefirst rope and the second rope are passed through an atmosphere of apredetermined temperature (heating furnace). Alternatively, portions ofcontact between the first rope and the second rope may be irradiatedwith infrared rays.

Through the steps above, the rope with spiral teeth of the presentembodiment can be manufactured.

The rope with spiral teeth of the present embodiment having the aboveconfiguration has, for example, at least the following functions andeffects.

In the rope with spiral teeth of the present embodiment, the first ropeand the second rope are bonded together without using any adhesive. Inproduction, therefore, there would be no problems with, for example, anadhesive being unevenly coated. In addition, the bonding strengthbetween the first rope and the second rope is high.

Since the infrared reflectance adjusting material described above isblended, the temperature rise characteristic of the first resin isdifferent from the temperature rise characteristic of the second resin.In the bonding process, therefore, the resin having the highertemperature rise characteristic is preferentially melted over the resinhaving the lower temperature rise characteristic. As a result, the resinmelted in a large amount (i.e., the resin having the higher temperaturerise characteristic) can fully bond the first rope and the second ropetogether. That is, the bonding process does not need to be performed atsuch a high temperature that the first resin and the second resin areboth melted in large amounts.

Therefore, in the manufactured rope with spiral teeth of the presentembodiment, the thermal deformation of the first resin and the secondresin in the bonding process is suppressed within an extent necessaryfor bonding. Therefore, the outer shapes of the first rope and thesecond rope are kept in predetermined shapes.

With this configuration, the protrusion formed of the second ropespirally wound around the outer circumferential surface of the firstrope securely engages with the groove of the gear. As a result, thetooth jumping hardly occurs. Therefore, the driving force of, forexample, a motor can be reliably transmitted to the rope with spiralteeth.

Further, the bonding process can be performed at a lower temperature.Therefore, the first resin and the second resin have excellentdurability and are less likely to be subjected to thermal deterioration.

The second resin contains an infrared reflectance adjusting material Bhaving a higher infrared reflectance. In the bonding process, therefore,the second resin is less likely to be heated and melted than the firstresin.

Herein, the production of the rope with spiral teeth in the related artcontaining no infrared reflectance adjusting material will be described.The first rope has a linear shape and a smaller surface area than thesecond rope. The second rope, on the other hand, is spirally wound andhas a larger surface area than the first rope. Therefore, when heat isexternally applied using, for example, a heating furnace, the secondresin is more easily heated than the first resin. Consequently, thesecond resin is melted in a larger amount than the first resin. As aresult, the first resin and the second resin may be aggregated(integrated), thereby largely deforming the second rope. Due to suchdeformation of the second rope, a sufficiently large protrusion may notbe formed, resulting in the tooth jumping.

In the present embodiment, however, the second resin contains theinfrared reflectance adjusting material B having a higher infraredreflectance. Therefore, the second resin is less likely to be heated.Thus, the second resin that is easily heated originally can be preventedfrom being excessively melted.

This can suppress the deformation of the second rope to a minimum levelthat is necessary for bonding. Therefore, the tooth jumping can be morereliably prevented.

The first resin contains the infrared reflectance adjusting material Ahaving a lower infrared reflectance. In the bonding process, therefore,the first resin is more easily heated and melted than the second resin.Although the second resin is less likely to be melted, therefore, thefirst resin melted in a large amount can fully bond the first rope andthe second rope together.

In the case where the infrared reflectance adjusting material is made ofat least one pigment selected from the group consisting of a compositeoxide pigment, a titanium oxide pigment, and a carbon black pigment,further excellent infrared reflecting properties or infrared absorbingproperties are imparted to the infrared reflectance adjusting material.Therefore, the rope with spiral teeth of the present embodiment canadvantageously have at least the above functions and effects.

These pigments also have, for example, excellent heat resistance,durability, weatherability, and chemical resistance. Therefore, theseproperties can be imparted to the rope with spiral teeth according tothe disclosed embodiments.

Furthermore, pigments having different degrees of burnish and colors maybe used in combination. The combination of such pigments can impartdistinguishability to the rope with spiral teeth.

In the case where the first resin and the second resin are made of thesame kind of resin material, the bonding strength between the first ropeand the second rope is higher than in the case where the first resin andthe second resin are made of different types of resin materials.

In the case where the first resin and the second resin are made ofthermoplastic resins, these resin materials have excellent elasticityand slidability. Therefore, even when the rope with spiral teeth and thegear repeatedly engage with each other, the damage of the first rope andthe second rope can more reliably be prevented.

These resin materials are also excellent in adhesiveness. Therefore, thefirst rope and the second rope can securely be bonded together. Inaddition, when the protrusion formed of the second rope and the gearengage with each other, the second rope is less likely to be displacedon the first rope.

In particular, the first resin and the second resin are preferably madeof at least one resin material selected from the group consisting of apolyester resin, a polyamide resin, a polyurethane resin, a fluorineresin such as a TEFLON® (registered trademark) resin, and a polyolefinresin. In this case, the rope with spiral teeth of the presentembodiment can advantageously have the above effects.

The first resin and the second resin are more preferably made of atleast one resin material selected from the group consisting of apolyester elastomer, a polyamide elastomer, and a polyurethaneelastomer. In this case, the rope with spiral teeth of the presentembodiment can more advantageously have the above effects.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A first rope having a circular cross section was prepared by coating awire rope core material with a polyester elastomer (Hytrel (registeredtrademark) 5577 manufactured by DU PONT-TORAY CO., LTD.) as a firstresin in a thickness of 0.075 mm. Here, the core material is a stainlesssteel core material of 0.45 mm in diameter formed of a multiple-twiststructure of 7×7 strands.

A second rope having a circular cross section was separately prepared bycoating a stainless-steel core material of 0.17 mm in diameter with thepolyester elastomer as a second resin in a thickness of 0.215 mm.

As an infrared reflectance adjusting material A, 1.5 wt % titanium oxidepowders were blended in advance into the first resin (polyesterelastomer) of the first rope.

As an infrared reflectance adjusting material B, 1.5 wt % compositeoxide pigment (AG235 manufactured by KAWAMURA CHEMICAL CO., LTD.) wasblended in advance into the second resin (polyester elastomer) of thesecond rope. That is, two different infrared reflectance adjustingmaterials were used, such that the infrared reflectance properties ofthe two resins were different.

Next, the second rope was spirally wound around the outercircumferential surface of the first rope at a pitch of 3.048 mm.

Finally, the process of bonding the first rope and the second rope wasperformed (at 410° C. for 24 seconds) in a heating furnace. In thismanner, a rope with spiral teeth of Example 1 was manufactured.

Comparative Example 1

As a first comparative example, a rope with spiral teeth wasmanufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that an infraredreflectance adjusting material was not blended into the polyesterelastomers of the first rope and the second rope.

Comparative Example 2

As a second comparative example, a rope with spiral teeth wasmanufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 1.5 wt %carbon black powders were blended into the respective polyesterelastomers of the first rope and the second rope. That is, the sameinfrared reflectance adjusting material was used, such that the infraredreflectance properties of the two resins were the same.

(Evaluation of Deformation)

The rope with spiral teeth of Example 1 having resins with differentreflectance properties was cut in the direction perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction. The cut surface of the rope was then observed.As a result, it was confirmed that the polyester elastomer of the firstrope and the polyester elastomer of the second rope were sufficientlymixed at the bonding portions. In other words, it was confirmed that thefirst rope and the second rope were securely bonded together.

The second rope was hardly deformed, and the shape of the spiralprotrusion formed of the second rope was well maintained.

Therefore, when the rope with spiral teeth having resins with differentreflectance properties is engaged with a gear, it seems that the secondrope securely engages with a groove of the gear, and that the toothjumping hardly occurs.

Furthermore, the first rope and the second rope were fully bondedtogether by the short-time bonding process performed at a relatively lowbonding temperature. As a result, the thermal deterioration of thepolyester elastomer was suppressed to a low level, and it seems thatexcellent durability may be imparted to the rope with spiral teeth ofExample 1 having resins with different reflectance properties.

In the rope with spiral teeth of Comparative Example 1 having noinfrared reflectance adjusting material, the polyester elastomer of thefirst rope and the polyester elastomer of the second rope are not fullymixed at the bonding portions, compared to the rope with spiral teeth ofExample 1 having two different infrared reflectance adjusting materialsmanufactured under the same conditions of the bonding process (410° C.for 24 seconds). Therefore, the degree of bonding between the first ropeand the second rope is low.

To increase the bonding strength in the rope with spiral teeth ofComparative Example 1 having no infrared reflectance adjusting material,an increase in the bonding temperature or time for the bonding processmay be required. In that case, however, the thermal deterioration of thepolyester elastomer is more likely to occur and the durability of thepolyester elastomer is lowered.

In the rope with spiral teeth of Comparative Example 2 having the sameinfrared reflectance properties, the polyester elastomers of the firstrope and the second rope were excessively melted. As a result, thepolyester elastomers were aggregated (integrated). In addition, thespiral protrusion formed by the second rope being wound around the firstrope was not kept in a predetermined shape.

Therefore, when the protrusion of the second rope in the rope withspiral teeth of Comparative Example 2 having the same infraredreflectance properties is engaged with a gear, it may be difficult forthe protrusion of the second rope to engage with a groove of the gear.As a result, tooth jumping is more likely to occur.

In the case where the infrared reflectance adjusting material iscontained in each of the first resin and the second resin in the ropewith spiral teeth of the present invention, as described above, thebonding process is performed under the conditions that the second resinis easily heated originally. In this case, the infrared reflectanceadjusting material is preferably blended into each of the first resinand the second resin such that the temperature rise characteristic ofthe first resin is higher than that of the second resin.

Alternatively, however, considering the difference in type of resinbetween the first resin and the second resin, the difference incondition of the bonding process and the like, the infrared reflectanceadjusting material may be blended such that the temperature risecharacteristic of the second resin is higher than that of the firstresin when the bonding process is performed under the conditions thatthe first resin positioned inside is easily heated originally.

The infrared reflectance adjusting material may be blended only into thefirst resin such that the temperature rise characteristic of the firstresin and that of the second resin are different from each other.Further alternatively, the infrared reflectance adjusting material maybe blended only into the second resin.

In any case, the functions and effects of the disclosed embodiments canadvantageously be obtained.

The rope with spiral teeth according to the disclosed embodiments may bemanufactured, for example, by the following production method.

That is, a method for manufacturing a rope with spiral teeth accordingto embodiments of the present invention includes: a winding step ofmanufacturing a rope precursor by spirally winding a second rope aroundthe outer circumferential surface of a first rope, the first rope beingobtained by coating a first core material with a first resin, the secondrope being obtained by coating a second core material with a secondresin; and a bonding step of performing a bonding process by heating therope precursor.

When preparing the first rope and the second rope to be used in thewinding step, an infrared reflectance adjusting material is blended intoat least one of the first resin and the second resin such that thetemperature rise characteristic of the first resin differs from that ofthe second resin.

The temperature at the time of the bonding process in the bonding stepis one at which the first resin or the second resin, whichever has thehigher temperature rise characteristic, is melted.

By the method for manufacturing a rope with spiral teeth according toembodiments of the present invention, the rope with spiral teethdescribed above can easily be manufactured.

The configurations of the respective members may be the same as thosedescribed in the above embodiments.

While the disclosed embodiments have been shown and described in detail,the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and notrestrictive. It is therefore understood that numerous modifications andvariations can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

1. A rope with spiral teeth, comprising: a first rope including a firstcore material, and a first resin covering the first core material; and asecond rope that is spirally wound around an outer circumferentialsurface of the first rope, the second rope including a second corematerial, and a second resin covering the second core material, whereinat least one of the first resin and the second resin contains aninfrared reflectance adjusting material to make a temperature risecharacteristic of the first resin and a temperature rise characteristicof the second resin different from each other, and the first rope andthe second rope are bonded together.
 2. The rope with spiral teethaccording to claim 1, wherein the first resin contains an infraredreflectance adjusting material A as the infrared reflectance adjustingmaterial, the second resin contains an infrared reflectance adjustingmaterial B as the infrared reflectance adjusting material, and aninfrared reflectance of the infrared reflectance adjusting material Aand an infrared reflectance of the infrared reflectance adjustingmaterial B differ from each other.
 3. The rope with spiral teethaccording to claim 2, wherein the infrared reflectance of the infraredreflectance adjusting material B is higher than the infrared reflectanceof the infrared reflectance adjusting material A.
 4. The rope withspiral teeth according to claim 1, wherein the infrared reflectanceadjusting material comprises at least one pigment selected from thegroup consisting of a composite oxide pigment, a titanium oxide pigmentand a carbon black pigment.
 5. The rope with spiral teeth according toclaim 1, wherein the first resin and the second resin are the same. 6.The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, wherein the first resinand the second resin are a thermoplastic resin.
 7. The rope with spiralteeth according to claim 6, wherein the first resin and the second resincomprise at least one resin material selected from the group consistingof a polyester resin, a polyamide resin, a polyurethane resin, afluorine resin and a polyolefin resin.
 8. The rope with spiral teethaccording to claim 7, wherein the first resin and the second resincomprise at least one resin material selected from the group consistingof a polyester elastomer, a polyamide elastomer and a polyurethaneelastomer.
 9. The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 3, whereinthe infrared reflectance adjusting material A comprises a titanium oxidepigment, and the infrared reflectance adjusting material B comprises acomposite oxide pigment.
 10. The rope with spiral teeth according toclaim 9, wherein the first resin and the second resin are a polyesterelastomer.
 11. The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, whereinthe second rope forms a spiral protrusion that is engageable with agear.
 12. The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, wherein atleast one of the first rope and the second rope is shaped as a rod witha circular cross section.
 13. The rope with spiral teeth according toclaim 1, wherein the first core material is a wire rope having aplurality of side strands wound around an outer circumferential surfaceof a single core strand.
 14. The rope with spiral teeth according toclaim 1, wherein the second core material is single stranded.
 15. Therope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, wherein a winding directionof the first rope relative to a central axis of the rope with spiralteeth is opposite to a winding direction of the second rope around thefirst rope.
 16. The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, whereinno adhesive is provided between the first rope and the second rope. 17.The rope with spiral teeth according to claim 1, wherein the first ropeand the second rope are heat-bonded to each other.
 18. A method formanufacturing a rope with spiral teeth, the method comprising: blendingan infrared reflectance adjusting material into at least one of a firstresin and a second resin such that a temperature rise characteristic ofthe first resin differs from a temperature rise characteristic of thesecond resin; coating a first core material with the first resin to forma first rope; coating a second core material with the second resin toform a second rope; spirally winding the second rope around an outercircumferential surface of the first rope to form a rope precursor; andsupplying an energy to the rope precursor that is sufficient to melt oneof the first resin and the second resin having a higher temperature risecharacteristic until the first rope and the second rope are bonded toeach other.